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Monday, September 03, 2007

The long wait has finished

Lebanon's army crushed the last remnants of a militant group in a ferocious gunbattle Sunday that killed 39 of the fighters, ending a bloody three-month siege at a Palestinian refugee camp that was the country's worst internal violence in years. Nearby villages celebrated with fireworks, drumming and dancing after the government declared victory.

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The army said three soldiers were killed in Sunday's fighting and two on Saturday, raising to 158 the number of troops who have died in the conflict — Lebanon's worst internal fighting since the 1975-90 civil war. More than 20 civilians and more than 60 militants have also been killed.

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Prime Minister Fuad Saniora called Sunday's final battle the "greatest national victory for Lebanon over the terrorists in Nahr el-Bared."

President Emile Lahoud said the army "has achieved what superpowers could not in confronting terrorism."